I have some small garden areas and am trying to figure out different
ways of planting traditional borders using victorian and arts and
crafts period styles as guides in terms of what to plant. In one area,
I've got Gertrude Jekyll style drifts in specific color schemes, in
another I've got all kinds of colors planted and different plants are
more spread out willy nilly in a more natural arrangement. I'm still
not satisfied with the looks I'm getting, both still look kind of
random, not organized (the drift garden) or kind of spindly and messy
(cottage style garden). It may just be that some of the perennials
haven't had time to mature but I'm looking to improve things.

I'm curious about what other people have tried with planting
arrangements, are there books or magazines that you've used for ideas
about planting combos? Any tips for combinations or arrangments that
you've found successful?

mm wrote:
I'm still
not satisfied with the looks I'm getting, both still look kind of
random, not organized (the drift garden) or kind of spindly and messy
(cottage style garden). It may just be that some of the perennials
haven't had time to mature but I'm looking to improve things.

I'm curious about what other people have tried with planting
arrangements, are there books or magazines that you've used for ideas
about planting combos? Any tips for combinations or arrangments that
you've found successful?


I wanted that casual English country garden look in my garden which I
started 3 years ago. This is the first year when the perennials have
grown large enough to look right, and they have exceeded my expectations.

But that brings up an important point--quite a few of the perennials
had a huge growth spurt this year and ended up are MUCH taller and wider
than I expected. Some are larger than the tags claimed they'd be. This
makes a huge difference in how it looks, and a couple had to be yanked
because they were blocking the view. Fortunately, I was able to get them
growing elsewhere.

What will be successful depends on your soil, water and light
conditions. I'm learning what will grown in my garden, and because I
have trees casting moving dappled shade on the whole border, it isn't
easy. There are things that will grow beautifully in one spot that won't
do anything two feet away!



--Jenny